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Gurren Lagann: The Heroine's Tragedy was "intended to be a happy ending" - Director Hiroyuki Imaishi Tells All

The popular anime "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann" created by Gainax, known for "Neon Genesis Evangelion." From the royal road of robot anime, a series of dizzying developments unfold, such as the abrupt exit of a popular character, the fall of the protagonist, and the heroine's tragedy. To find out how such a "heavy" story came to be born, we asked Director Hiroyuki Imaishi to reveal to us the inside story behind the production.

--How did you feel about directing a robot anime?

Imaishi: Personally, it is my favorite genre, and since I started working with anime I wanted to do it at least once, so I was very into it.

--There is a surprising lack of robots with drills among mecha that have leading roles.

Imaishi: Yes, there wasn't anyone who used drills seriously to that extent yet (laugh). Drills that appear in robot anime have a weak sense of realism, and it's hard to use them in a realistic way, so they haven't been used very much. That's why, contrary to that, I thought I'd put them in the center of the story, and deliberately use a style that doesn't have much realism.

--Why did you appoint Kazuki Nakajima-san to write the script?

Imaishi: Before, we'd both worked on "Re: Cutey Honey" together, so I was thinking that no one other than Nakajima-san could do the script. Nakajima-san and I have extremely close tastes, so I thought I'd leave it to him.

--Specifically, where do your tastes match?

Imaishi: Development that is quick and crammed full of material, and hotheadedness (laugh).

--It's amazing how he condensed so much material into Episode 27.

Imaishi: There were also parts that I forced in (laugh). But, I think that there's no one else out there who could come up with something in such a form.

--In Episode 1, they came up to the surface all of a sudden.

Imaishi: When we were creating the setting, everyone was talking about what kind of lives they had underground, what kind of animals they had.....they kept thinking about all those things. But that's only going to appear in half an episode (laugh).

--It was also surprising how quickly Kamina made his "exit."

Imaishi: It was a realistic problem; as long as that character was around, Simon couldn't become the main character. If we're going to depict Simon's growth or "biography," Aniki really had to be gone.

--About the structure of all four arcs, which part is your favorite?

Imaishi: I wanted to do the 3rd arc the most. Because for the 1st and 2nd arcs, it's obvious that with this much staff, we could make it interesting. But whether I'd properly be able to depict the universal drama of "once a person has accomplished something, what will he do after that?" became a big theme for me personally.

--The climax "broke through the heavens," and it finished nicely.

Imaishi: It was thanks to Nakajima-san having finished writing it such a long time ago. Because the script was done, we knew just how difficult it would be in the future, and were able to be prepared.

--Was the heroine Nia's tragedy at the end planned early too?

Imaishi: I think it was quite early. It is a tragedy, but none of the characters have any regrets remaining, and accept it with their own will. So I created it intending it to be a happy ending.

What a fat load of shit. Just say "Tragic" and leave it as that, why contradict with the word "Happy"???

Tell Imaishi to suck his own balls.

Get over it. There are really people out there who think the current ending is kind of "happy". At least for me it is. I am also shocked and surprised over the lost of Nia but they already hinted that with the blinking part during the final battle scene. Its like in the final battle , when Nia told Simon to keep going means he knew Nia will die after they defeated Anti Spiral. In the end, Simon make the decision.

Although I prefer the ending w/o the epilogue though, since it will leave room for another season! Sadly, good thing have to end

Hah, get it over it? I will never forgive Gainax for killing off Nia, even after I die.

If they killed off Yoko instead, I bet there'd be a whole lot more outrage than me here ranting my balls off alone for Nia. You people accept stuff too easily. Even I was about to throw my whole misery away but no someone just had to come out and give shitty excuses for his "Happy" ending.

Can anyone discipher this? If freekin explains the cloning process of the beastmen! I NEED to learn the straight facts!

Here's a rough translation of the main text.

Quote:

The Beastmen who rule over the surface, all are manufactured(created automatically) from the Capital Teppelin. In order to create new Beastmen, Lord Genome has performed many various experiments. Beastmen who possess near human intelligence are given leadership positions while Beastmen who are termed as "failures" were kept underground.

As the Capital is standing upon the corpses of Beastmen, it came to be known as the City of Death.

Below is the translation under the picture with the yellow bright things.

Quote:

Each and every capsule of light is the incubator of a Beastman.

And here's the translation of the bottom text.

Quote:

These are the experimental bodies of failed Beastmen. Including beastmen created from the fusion of several animals, beastmen created by transforming animals to mimic humanity, etc

Things we learn- half of Nakajima's answers are lies, Nia is the one who suggested that Simon make the Kamina statue, and they talk of the possibility of a spin-off centered around Viral. Possibility, so nothing's been decided yet it seems.

Yeah, I think she was crying a few times, though to me she sounded like she was on the verge of tears every time she talked. XD And she was saying "ano" every other word...is she not used to being on radio very much?

Well, she sounded kinda scared to be talking (apparently she didn't say much on the DVD commentary either and the other guys talked over her), but the parts where she cried was when she got really emotional talking about Nia. Like when she said that the 3rd arc was tough for her, and she had to record as Messenger!Nia separately from everyone else, because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to say her lines right in front of Simon, Yoko, and everyone. ;_;

EDIT: LOL, listening to it again, she sounded like she was about to cry during the quiz too. XD "Cup ramen... ;_;"